Forever
by silvermooncatgirl
Summary: I am writing as Dawn! May comes back on the scene and has a thing for Ash...
1. Chapter 1

"Hi, my name's May. Who're you?" The bouncy brunette grinned at me, her trainers squeaking on the shiny tiled floor of the Daycare Centre.

"I'm Dawn," I replied.

"Dawn...?"

"Yes," I responded defensively; what did she mean?

"Dawn who... well, this might sound silly, but... Dawn who travels with Ash Ketchum?"

"Yes, that's me. So you're the May he talks about, then?" I asked, shaking May's offered hand.

"He talks about me?" May gasped, and I was immensely suprised to see her blushing.

"Erm, yeah," I said, taken aback. "Mostly how great your Pokemon are, though, but yes, sometimes about you."

"Oh, goodness," May said. She looked dizzy. "Right... Is he here?"

"Yes," I said. May leapt in the air, her face jubilant.

"Oh, I've wanted to see him for so long!" she exulted, and turned back to me. "W-where?"

"Are you in love with him, or something?" I exclaimed, and May's delighted face fell.

"No," she said, her voice suddenly very small and deflated.

"Joke," I said, hesitantly. May's smile returned, but smaller and less obvious. "He's over there," I added, pointing to where Ash was standing in line at the counter, waiting to hand over his new Cleffa for Daycare.

"Great, thanks," May said, skipping away to tap Ash on the back.

He ducked out of the queue when he saw May beaming at her, and hugged her tightly. She left her hands gripping his arms as they spoke, and there was a lot of laughter between them. May was gazing, transfixed, into Ash's face.

"And this is Dawn," Ash said, leading May over to me.

"Yes, we've met," I said, smiling at Ash. "Shall I hand in Cleffa while you two _catch up_?" I said 'catch up' with deliberate emphasis, hoping May would get the message and calm down. She did not. Instead, she pulled Ash away and they walked outside.

"Well, fine," I said, somewhat peturbed. This May girl seemed nice, but obviously smitten with Ash.

I stood in the queue for a while, watching Ash and May through the glass doors. May wouldn't let go of his arms, though Ash didn't seem to mind. They were laughing dementedly together, acting out what I presumed must have been their previous adventures. I handed Cleffa into the Daycare, gave them Ash's name and headed out into the bright sunshine.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, guys," I said, walking up to them and grinning at Ash. He didn't return my smile, merely grunting something and turning back to May. "Are we getting back on our way, then?" I asked, tapping Ash on the arm.

"Huh?"

"Are we going?" I asked, deliberately placing myself in between May and him.

"Going where?"

"Onwards," I said, half-jokingly. "I mean, I dropped Cleffa off so..."

"Can... Can I come with you?" May asked suddenly, and Ash's face lit up.

"Sure!" he yelled, before I could cut in.

"Oh," I said. "Great."

"Let's go then!" May said. "One moment."

She ran into the Daycare Centre and returned ten minutes later. "I phoned my mom," she said, and brandised her case. "And I picked this up too."

"Great!" Ash cried, with genuine enthusiasm. We walked as an uncomfortable three out of the Daycare grounds and onto a dusty path which twisted around a forest, and from the soft waves a little way away, a lake. May and Ash were still reliving past adventures, so I trudged along, head down, scuffing my shoes on the pavement. I felt so alone. When it was just Ash and me, we were joking, laughing, messing around and having stupid contests all the time, but now I felt like an outsider.

"So, Ash," I could hear May saying. "Have you got a girlfriend?"

"Nah," Ash said, shrugging as if he couldn't care less, though I saw from behind his shoulders tense.

"Oh, really?" May asked, layering on the suprise in her voice. I snorted with laughter behind them, and Ash looked round, only half-interested.

"OK, Dawn?" he asked.

"Yes, fine," I said, imitating May's gushing voice. She didn't even notice, so absorbed was she in returning to the fact of Ash's single status.

"So, you've never had a girlfriend?" she chirruped.

"No," Ash said, "It's too hard when you're travelling."

"Not even Dawn?" May asked, and there was more than just innocent curiosity there. Her voice took on a steely edge, and she glanced slightly over her shoulder to where I was walking.

"Ha," Ash chuckled. "No, we're just friends."

I swore under my breath and then stopped.

Ash and May kept walking. They hadn't realised they must be 100 metres away by now. I grimaced.  
"Looks like I'm gonna be alone for a while," I muttered to myself, and then followed them unwillingly.

"C'mon, Dawn! What are you DOING?" May shrieked, making me jump. I had been thinking of new moves to teach Piplup and hadn't realised I'd strayed off the path and was walking perilously close to the river now rushing by us.

"Nothing," I called back, giving May an approximation of a happy relaxed smile.

"Well, I hope you've got your sleeping bag," May shouted. "'cause there's only one tent and it's not big enough for all of us!"

"Great," I said to myself.

"Why don't you and Dawn use the tent?" I heard Ash saying gallantly.

"No, no," May said, "You can sleep in the tent with me. I'll make a barrier of pillows or something."

"Well..." Ash looked back worriedly towards me and I gave him a wave with a heavily-laden sarcastic smile.

"OK," he succumbed.


	3. Chapter 3

Luckily for me, it wasn't too cold.

I lay on the ground, wrapped in my sleeping bag, which was wrapped in Ash's blanket he'd thrown from the tent a few hours ago.

I could still see their outlines in the tent, May sitting up and chatting animatedly, Ash lying down, his hands behind his head. I saw no hint of the pillow barrier May had promised Ash. I could vaguely hear them too:

"...and then Brock comes along, and-" at this point May's voice was overcome with giggles and she rocked backwards and forwards.

"And he sees Nurse Joy _and _Officer Jenny," Ash continued through May's constant mirth.

"...and thinks they're..." May spluttered.

"Both in love with him!" Ash finished. They both cracked up and I sighed.

"Hey, guys," I called, loudly.

"Yeah, Dawn?" Ash asked, poking his head out of the tent flap. "Woah, it's freezing out here! What did you want, Dawn?"

"Can you keep it down?" I asked.

"Erm, yeah, sure," Ash said, retreating back into the tent.

They lowered their voices by a fraction, though the night air was still punctuated with shrill giggles from May.

"Fine, fine," I muttered. "You win, May..."

My dreams were strange that night:

_"I can't believe I'm getting married," I said.  
"Me neither, but it's true!"  
My suitor seemed to be quite attractive, something I was pleased about. He had long-ish black hair, and a Raichu sat beside him.  
"Me neither!"  
I screamed as a woman entered the room. She was beautiful, but something wasn't right; she was a textbook 'evil' witch-like woman, long brown hair and for some reason, black leggings.  
"Come on," she said, with a high-pitched giggle. My suitor, my fiance, was walking away, and the dream-me's face was streaming with tears, and then I was melting, melting..._

"Good lord, Dawn, get up already," May's voice cut across my dreams.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes to see the interior of my sleeping bag. I struggled for a moment to free my legs (I had been in a tight ball at the very bottom of the bag) and emerged, blinking, into the morning. Both Ash and May had wringing wet hair, May was smearing her makeup all over her face and Ash was searching in his rucksack for berries.

"Finally," Ash said, with a fleeting smile.

May giggled again.

"What?" I snapped; she was looking at me.

"Your hair," she snorted.

"Right," I said, and lurched away sleepily into the trees, where I could hear the river gurgling in its bed.

20 minutes later, I had perfect hair, was clean and full.

"Come _on_," May complained, as I rolled up the sleeping bag. "We have to go!"

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

"Because we're going the opposite way," May said irritably.

"Wha-?" I looked desperately at Ash. "But, Ash, we're on our way to Jubilife City!"

"Well, erm," Ash looked uncomfortable, but May gave him an icy glare and he said, "But May's thing is more important than a PokeTech."

"What's May's thing then?" I asked, hurt.

"A contest," May said smugly. "In fact, a final of a contest. It's just me and some weirdo called Jessibelle."

"Jessibelle, huh?" Ash laughed. "Stupid name."

"Yeah," May said, smiling sickeningly at Ash.

"Not as stupid as 'May'," I muttered to myself. I was sure that Ash heard, because the corners of his mouth twitched, but I begged him not to tell (by using the old puppydog eye trick) and he was silent.

We set off two hours later, because May caught sight of herself in the river as we set off and needed to re-apply her mascara. Copious times.


End file.
